Hot lettuce market levels off at high rate
With good demand and decreasing supplies, the rising lettuce market appears to have found its place above $30.
"We've had very good prices for the last 10 days to two weeks," said Denny Donovan, sales manager at Fresh Kist Produce LLC in Salinas, CA. "Salinas, Huron and Santa Maria are all winding down, so it looks like this will hold until volume picks up in the desert."
Blueberries and strawberries are the mainliners at Wish Farms
Wish Farms, a third-generation family-owned-and-op-erated business in Plant City, FL, has staked its national reputation for quality and innovation with more than 50 years of expertise under its corporate belt. Amber Kosinsky, director of marketing, said the company is one of the larger strawberry growers and processors in the eastern United States, building its reputation on the core principles of quality, integrity and responsiveness.
In addition to strawberries, Wish Farms grows and markets blueberries and some seasonal vegetables.
Weis-Buy Farms’ Dominican Republic colored pepper deal triples in volume
The strategic partnership that Weis-Buy Farms Inc. has cemented with Dominican Republic producers of colored peppers is serving the company well. With its expanded program, Owner Chuck Weisinger said the company’s colored pepper volume from the Caribbean country has tripled during the past year.
Weis-Buy is a full-service produce company headquartered in Fort Myers, FL.
CMI Fruit announces new sales hire
Columbia Marketing International announced the appointment of Shane Marston to the sales team, effective Nov. 10.
Marston has accumulated over 20 years of experience in the produce industry specializing in retail, management, buying, and most recently selling produce. As the director of sales for the progressive produce NW Division, Shane handled over 70 percent of yearly sales. Prior to Progressive Produce, Marston was the produce director for Unified Grocers of Seattle.
California Giant expands consumer network with new blog
California Giant, a Watsonville, CA-based shipper of a full line of berries, has unveiled a new blog to continue its emphasis on consumer engagement to build brand loyalty.
Produce retail veteran Joe DeLorenzo dies at 64
Joe DeLorenzo, who spent his entire professional career in the field of produce retailing, died Wednesday, Nov. 12, of cancer. He was most recently director of produce merchandising and operations at Alpha 1 Marketing, which is the merchandising arm of Krasdale Foods, in White Plains, NY. He was 64 years old and a resident of Clifton, NJ.
Bins offer merchandising opportunities for produce
When Sunkist's director of retail merchandising, Julie DeWolf, came from a consumer product group company to the nation's largest citrus marketer, she was surprised that retail display bins weren't in the firm's marketing arsenal.
On the consumer products side, it was a well-developed and well-used strategy. "They offer an excellent opportunity to get a display in a secondary location," she said.
National Mango Board appoints new director of marketing
The National Mango Board recently named Rachel Muñoz as its new director of marketing.
Muñoz contribution to the NMB will serve to strengthen the board’s mission to increase fresh mango consumption in the United States.
As director of marketing, Muñoz will oversee marketing and public relations for consumer, nutrition, retail and foodservice programs, as well as manage trade shows and website communications. In addition, she will collaborate with the management team in developing marketing concepts, tactics and campaigns — all designed to push forward the NMB’s mission.
HLB Specialties in full swing with papayas for holiday season
HLB Specialties, a Pompano Beach, FL-based distributor of a full-line of tropical produce items with a focus on papayas, is promoting a good supply of high-quality papayas during the holiday season.
Homero Levy de Barros, president of HLB Specialties, said the company sources the large Formosa variety papayas for the U.S. market primarily from Guatemala and Mexico, and both regions are in a period of maximum production, with no issues of weather that could cause an interruption in supply.
Double-digit increases expected for U.S. imports of Chilean cherries
The Chilean Cherry Committee, an entity associated with the Chilean Fruit Exporters Association, expects total exports of fresh cherries from Chile to reach 100,000 tons this year. As the second-largest export market for Chile, North America anticipates a 45 percent increase in volume over the 2013/14 season.